Battle of Seves Island

The Battle of Seves Island occurred on 26 July 1944 when the US 90th Infantry Division was dispatched to push through the hedgerows near Saint-Germain-sur-Seves, which were guarded by German fallschirmjaegers. The Americans brought up armor to assault German positions after the German artillery positions were captured, and the Americans succeeded in pushing the Wehrmacht back into the Falaise Gap.

Background
The July 1944 Operation Cobra breakout allowed for the United States' forces in Normandy to push inland towards the capital of Paris, forcing the German 7th Army into the Falaise Gap, centered at Chambois. The US 90th Infantry Division under Raymond S. McLain was given the task of clearing the hedgerows of Saint-Germain-sur-Seves of German fallschirmjaegers and artillery, with the artillery preventing American armor from moving forwards. If the Americans wanted to have armored support in their advance towards Falaise, they needed to take out the German artillery at Seves Island.

Battle
A portion of the 90th Infantry Division was sent to flank the Germans to allow the rest of the division to move through, as they needed to take out the artillery that the Germans used against their forces. The assault on the island itself was costly at first, with American soldiers advancing into the open, where German machine-gunners mowed them down, even taking out some tanks. Americans had to use their tanks and even dead cows as cover, and it was a while before the German positions were cleared. After that, the US soldiers proceeded to advance to clear the nearby manor houses, farms, and all other buildings of Germans, and a squad under Sergeant Frank McCullin succeeded in destroying or capturing several German artillery positions. The Germans held several local hills as command posts as well, and McCullin's squad worked together with other American forces to take out those positions. After the other German forces were pushed back, the Americans proceeded to attack the artillery in the German trenches and bunkers, and they succeeded in capturing the positions after some fierce, close-quarters fighting. With the German artillery no longer operational, American armor was able to accompany the US troops in pushing into the town of St. Germain itself, and the battle was a US victory.